Hurricane Preparedness Week is time to get ready

May 11--Hurricane Matthew's assault on the Golden Isles last October has given Jay Wiggins a captive audience for the task awaiting him.

In previous years the longtime director of Glynn County's Emergency Management Agency found it challenging at times getting folks to focus on the annual June 1 start of hurricane season. But after Matthew rocked the region with Category 2 force winds of 110 mph on Oct. 7-8 last year, local residents and businesses appear more willing to talk about hurricane preparedness.

"It's been a lot easier to bring hurricane preparedness to the forefront of people's minds than it was in the past," said Wiggins. "And that is because of Matthew. You always want to look for the good in something, and this is the bright side of Matthew. I think people realize now that a hurricane not only did happen here, but it can happen here again."

With that in mind, Wiggins is encouraging folks to heed the advice that is being spread during Hurricane Preparedness Week, which began Sunday and continues through Saturday. The campaign to encourage advance preparation for the hurricane season is being promoted by the county EMA, Georgia's EMA, the Federal EMA and the National Weather Service.

As always, Wiggins' advice is to pray for the best, but prepare for the worst. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November. There are several basic precautions folks should take now to be better prepared when the threat of a hurricane is eminent.

"What we're asking is for people to prepare for a worst-case scenario," Wiggins said. "That means having a storm plan, having an evacuation plan. It means having an emergency storm kit prepared in advance."

Detailed information on preparations for hurricane season are available by going to the county's website, glynncounty.org, and clicking "hurricane preparedness" under the EMA's tab. Another good storm preparation source is Ready Georgia, ready.ga.gov. The American Red Cross's website, www.redcross.org, also is a good source of hurricane preparation information, Wiggins said.

Among advance preparation advice offered by the county EMA:

--update insurance information to ensure adequate coverage;

--ascertain whether you are in a flood zone;

--assemble that emergency supply kit of nonperishable food, water and medicine to cover three days;

--ditto for pet supplies;

--have on hand battery operated radios and other vital equipment, plus spare batteries;

--and prepare a written hurricane plan, including the possibility of evacuation.

The county EMA plans to schedule some town hall meetings in the near future to further discuss hurricane preparedness, Wiggins said.

Hurricane Matthew skirted the Georgia Coast with powerful winds that knocked power out for days in some areas and left the county with a $10.2 million cleanup bill. This followed a September in which the Golden Isles was hit by Tropical Storms Hermine and Julia.

Prior to that, the area had not been threatened by a large named storm since Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Prior to that, it was Hurricane Dora in 1964. Matthew and the two tropical storms served as a reality check for EMA officials, as well as police, firefighters and other public safety agencies.

"We had plans on the shelf for years, but they had never been put into use," Wiggins. "Matthew was a game changer. It really gave us an opportunity to assess our ability to respond to something like this."

Officials issued a countywide evacuation as hurricane Matthew approached. In its aftermath, the thousands of folks who heeded the evacuation were temporarily prevented from returning. Mainland residents were allowed back the afternoon of Oct. 8, but St. Simons Island residents were not allowed back until Oct. 11.

In the meantime, many business owners were frustrated that essential workers could not get back onto the island. Many said they did not know it was necessary to apply for a "Critical Worker Pass" to allow employees back into the evacuated areas. Wiggins urges business owners to go to the EMA's tab on the county website now and apply for the "Critical Worker Pass."

"We're working to revamp our entire reentry plan and we want to make sure that everybody understands the process," Wiggins said. "We're continually working on making our plans better and more efficient."

Residents can do their part by making hurricane preparation plans now. Those who take responsibility in advance for safeguarding themselves and their families make things go much more smoothly for public safety officials when the threat of a hurricane is real and imminent, Wiggins said.

"Preparation starts at the very local level," he said. "If an individual has the ability to take care of his family and to put a storm plan in place, that means we are in a much better position to deal with the emergencies that arise in the event of an actual hurricane."

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